Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Even If We Break by Marieke Nijkamp

18 reviews

baponthecob's review

dark hopeful mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I really wasn't connected to the friend group as a whole, but as individuals, Ever was my favorite and I related the most to Maddy. I really did not care about Carter at all, and I hated Liva with a passion. Her head was so far up her own ass that she could probably taste her breakfast. I understand that she was conditioned to be that way by her parents, but at some point she is responsible for her own actions, especially when her friends wanted to help. Finn was done so dirty by her. I got tired of her classism and ableism so quick. Also transphobia??? Really out of left field. Like she is a cis straight rich white girl out here belittling her queer, trans, and disabled friends who are not as well off 😟 and then had the audacity to say she still cared about them 😟 and that they made her do what she did bc they tried to be more than they should 😟 please get some help
And after all that, we've got Ever still feeling bad. They have so much compassion for everyone else and I love them for it, but they really need to care about themself too :( and that's where  the book takes us at the end. Freshly realized morals, taking one step at a time, all that cheesy shit.
Overall, I liked how this book discussed friendship and how some things may not last. The main message at the end was a little bittersweet but still hopeful. But it was just VERY in-your-face, which really took me out of the story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Drug abuse, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence

Moderate: Car accident, Chronic illness, Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Hate crime, Self harm, and Transphobia

piperlee's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Okay this book has one good thing going for it and that’s the representation among the 5 main characters:
Finn is trans and lives with a disability that impacts his mobility & causes him chronic pain
Ever is non-binary and their family lives in poverty
Maddy is autistic (and I think bisexual) and also deals with chronic pain as a result of an accident
Carter and Liva both come from rich families & it’s hinted that Carter is bisexual.
& I love that this is an OwnVoices novel - the author is also autistic, disabled and non-binary.

Other than that, this book was really disappointing. The story felt weighed down by the frequent jumping into the past or the characters’ subconscious thoughts - I found myself skimming most of what probably could have been great character development had it been formatted differently. Because of this, a lot of the suspense was dampened. Also the villain revealed at the end just didn’t make sense?? And then the ending felt too romanticized and unrealistic when it came to the responses characters had to the disturbing events? 
To be fair, I read to end because I wanted to know what was going on & I cared about the characters. And I’m freaked out by everything that happened! But overall this book fell flat for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction and Drug abuse

Minor: Ableism, Car accident, Transphobia, Confinement, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts

nyoom's review

dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, and Violence

Moderate: Medical trauma and Toxic relationship

Minor: Colonisation

kamiacam's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Transphobia

drp_moonlight's review

adventurous emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I can't begin to say how underwhelming it was. The book markets itself as a thriller but the actual action is far too often put aside for teen drama and angst that tried to pass as character development but only served to drag the story to a complete halt. The villain was incredibly predictable and not even interesting at that. Still rated 3 stars because it was a quick read and entertaining enough. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Ableism, Blood, Bullying, Car accident, Death, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Murder, Transphobia, and Chronic illness

Minor: Animal death and Suicidal thoughts

plumpaperbacks's review

dark medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I added Even If We Break to my tbr on impulse because it sounded intriguing. Unfortunately, I only liked three of the five leads, and I wasn’t really invested in the story. Not only am I hardly interested in roleplaying, but it was also quite easy, in my opinion, to guess who the antagonist was. By the time I was halfway done, I had two predictions, and one of them ended up being correct. If I’m being honest, it was disappointing. Said antagonist didn’t have a good reason for any of their actions.

I nearly gave the book two stars, but bumped it up by half because I did end up really liking Ever, Finn, and Maddy. Their friendship was sweet and genuine, and Ever and Finn’s budding romance was super cute.

Ultimately, I’m not sure I’d recommend this, and I’m not sure Nijkamp’s work is my cup of tea. Thrillers really are hit or miss.

Representation

• trans bisexual protagonist that uses they/them pronouns
• trans protagonist that uses he/him pronouns
• autistic bisexual protagonist with chronic pain
• bisexual protagonist

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Gore, Blood, Ableism, Addiction, Drug abuse, Death, Mental illness, Chronic illness, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Body shaming, Violence, and Transphobia

Minor: Physical abuse and Self harm

maisierosereads's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Blood, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

nobirdtennis's review

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

things i loved: diversity of the characters in gender, sexuality, class, and ability. there were two trans characters, one of whom was nonbinary. one character was autistic, and another had a physical disability. class divisions were a prominent part of both the plot and character dynamics. i found the characters interesting and relatable (except for liva). i definitely felt connected with characters who i had shared identities with. queer, trans, and disabled characters were allowed to have their identities not be sidelined while not being the biggest plot focus.

just okay: the writing wasn’t anything remarkable, but it didn’t take away from the book much either. i would’ve liked to learn more about zac.

things i didn’t like: i would’ve liked to see a less white cast. i wasn’t super into the final reveal. it wasn’t super predictable, but not very surprising either.

i did at least like that the villain was bigger than liva. it was really capitalism and the ruling class as a whole.

overall: i liked this book a lot! i haven’t read a horror or thriller book in quite a few years, and this was a nice taste of that. it wasn’t the best thing ever, but queer and disabled people deserve thriller books that aren’t masterpieces!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, Bullying, Transphobia, Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug abuse, and Chronic illness